Perfect for kids

My 7 year old wanted a "fitbit" but when looking for one, I found this Garmin fitness tracker designed for kids. It has limited functionality but is geared for kids and he loves it. It tracks "steps" (though I'm not convinced it's very accurate) as well as "activity" time, with a goal automatically set for 60 minutes of daily activity. And it displays the time of day.
It also allows me to award coins for chores or tasks. It's easy to customize - I can choose from a long list of chores or create my own, then assign values to each chore, as well as the rewards that the coins can be redeemed for (so if he earns 10 coins, he gets to choose dinner one night, etc.).
It syncs to an app that I keep on my phone, so we regularly check his daily steps and activity level, and he really strives to get to his goal. It also tracks sleep, which we can review in the app.
And it's waterproof so great for swimming and bathing. He is really loving it!

I would recommend this to a friend

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HTblondy

Member

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

3

Did not fit my 9 year old

As much as I loved the idea of this, as did my 9 year old son, it did not fit him. We did plenty of research on fitness trackers and was excited to find one geared for kids. When he tried it on it was too snug for him and he said it was uncomfortable. My son has a very slender build to him. Unfortunately, it had to go back. He loved the idea of earning and the settings on this as well as you can wear it swimming! I know that you can buy a regular wrist band accessory to replace the band with if that helps anyone, I just did not want to spend more money than I should have on this item. I gave it only 3 stars for all of the great things this tracker could've done for us.

No, I would not recommend this to a friend

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Brand response

GarminProductExpert

2 years ago

Hello HTblondy, Thank you for posting review of the vivofit jr. We are sorry to see that the included band did not fit your 9 year old. We wanted to reach out to let you know that there is an option to order a larger replacement band through the vivofit jr. app. This replacement band would be sent to you at no cost. For more information please use the following FAQ link:&nbsphttps://support.garmin.com/faqSearch/en-US/faq/content/9L9m58yJfK9kWTP8zWvjr7. Thank you again for your review. -JFH

Megaman

Verified Purchase

Elite Plus Member

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4

My Son Loves it.

I have a Fitbit tracker and my son saw how involved I was in tracking my daily steps and staying active. He wanted to compete with me but I couldn't really find something in the Fitbit that worked for him. This Garmin doesn't have to be constantly recharged like my fitbit, it handles water much better and keeps my son active in competition with me for daily steps even thought the Garmin and Fitbit run on separate apps. The only downfall was after 5 months the band broke and we had to order a new one. Costs about 20 on Amazon so getting a new band as opposed to a new Garmin was the way to go. Overall a great buy and love to see how excited my son is about exercise and healthy competition.

I would recommend this to a friend

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CasualGamer123

Verified Purchase

Member

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

5

Kids love it

I was looking for a step tracker and watch that my young kids could navigate through and understand on their own and the vivofit jr. accomplished that. They love its features. I like that it's not completely tied to a smart phone. You need the app during initial setup and if you choose to use certain features (goals, rewards) but it's not mandatory for what my kids enjoy--counting steps, having a watch, timer, etc. The only unknown is the battery. It is not rechargeable and is supposed to last a year. I am curious to see if it lasts that long and how easy it will be to replace. For now my kids love it so I am very pleased with it.

I would recommend this to a friend

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SherMer

Verified Purchase

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

5

My 7 yr old son LOVES his band.

Bought this as a Christmas gift for my 7 year old son. He loves the activity counter, he has been more active since he received it. Reaching his goal & exceeding it is a great motivator for him. I love the sleep tracker, it helps me monitor the quality & duration of his sleep. The band is easy to sync and my son enjoys getting the points for doing his chores. You can even set rewards...which I didn't realize when I purchased it. The band fits his wrist fine, we've had no problems. Overall I would definitely recommend this band. Pretty cool for a kiddie toy. But it has more of a big kid look which my son loves. (He has the black band)

I would recommend this to a friend

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tiffanye1111

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

2

battery only lasts 6 months

We got this for our 9 year old. Decent idea poorly executed. The device has a hard time synching to get coins. It has a bit of a childish look to it. And, after just 6 months, the battery went. They advertise that the battery lasts a year, but it doesn't come even close. The same was true for the one our niece had. Of course, the materials on the band aren't great either, and by it got to be 6 months old, all the graphics were pretty much worn off and it looked like crap. I hear fitbit has a new kid version - might be a better option.

No, I would not recommend this to a friend

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TQ17

Verified Purchase

Elite Member

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4

Great for kids

Bought this for my son's 8th bday. His older sister has a more expensive fitbit and he wanted something similar. We were afraid he'd lose/damage/forget to charge something more expensive. This was a perfect solution. It doesn't require charging and was less expensive than the fitbit. He almost never takes it off and likes to use it for step counting and as a watch. There are other functions on it as well that are supposed to motivate him to complete chores, but the thrill of that feature only lasted about a week. Don't have any real complaints, other than its still a little pricey if you don't buy it on sale.

I would recommend this to a friend

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JaNic

Member

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

1

Worthless

I am sad that I cannot give the Vivofit Jr. zero stars. The first one I had worked for 2 weeks. I was able to exchange it for a new one which worked for about 4 days. I replaced the battery which fixed the problem for another 4 days. I checked the warranty and discovered that I can send it to Garmin to be fixed as long as I pay for shipping. It makes no sense that they sell worthless products and then expect you to pay more so they can "fix" it. As a side note, I have a Vivofit HR which works nicely as a way to see texts on my wrist but is terrible for fitness tracking. I will never buy another Garmin product.

No, I would not recommend this to a friend

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Brand response

GarminProductExpert

2 years ago

Hello JaNic, We are sorry to see that you are having trouble with your vivofti jr. We would love and opportunity to assist you with this device to determine why it is discharging the battery so quickly and to replace the unit. Please send an email to social@garmin.com and provide as much information about your experience as possible, and we will be happy to explore all exchange options. Thank you for taking time to post a review. -JFH

Nick

Verified Purchase

Elite Plus Member

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4

Good activity tracker for kids

This is a good activity tracker for the kids. The wristband is a bit small for kids. My 5 yr old is average size but it fits him pretty snuggly. The description says that it’s for kids 5-9 yrs. I don’t think it’ll fit my kids by the time he’s 7-8. The step counts might be a bit off counting more for less. However, the nice thing is it’s kid-friendly, keeps my kid interested in doing more activities to earn points/rewards which is the whole purpose of coughing up quite a bit $$ for a device for kids. We’ll come back to provide more updates since my kid only has it for a week.

I would recommend this to a friend

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Nonismom

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

3

Face of product is not durable

I read several different reviews on various products and loved this one the most by far. My 5 year old loves the chore list and she is recognizing numbers and time so much better. I am disappointed though that 4 days after she got it she was playing outside and another child threw a ball to her and it hit her wrist on top of the band and cracked the face. Really? I did not purchase the warranty but when I called was told it wouldn't have mattered that "normal wear" was not covered. So although your child can bathe and sleep in it you might be cautious of having them actually play with it on.

No, I would not recommend this to a friend

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TomG

Verified Purchase

Member

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4

Nice device to encourage kids activity

In the era of electronic devices replacing physical activity for kids this is a good idea to help get them motivated. Good starter for young kids. My daughter got very competitive on who's winning the step race ;) She also loves that she has the only one that can go in the pool in the family. The only complaint would be that band it comes with is REALLY small. My daughter is 6 and it left marks after wearing for a few days. We stretched it on a container which helped but will probably have to look at replacement bands to try and get something bigger for her.

I would recommend this to a friend

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BushyTailed

Verified Purchase

Member

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

5

Controlling my kids with an app!

I knew Garmin was on to something when my kids chased me down to tell me they had done their chores. I knew we were in good shape when I walked in on them brushing their teeth with one hand and staring at the tooth-brushing timer on the other. Great functionality for the kids (timers, step count, coin count, etc.) and simple controls for parents via the app. I won't review the app here but do appreciate the activity trackers' ability to pair with two parents' phones. So far so good. Only had one display issue that was quickly resolved by syncing data with my phone.

I would recommend this to a friend

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Willa05

Verified Purchase

Member

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

5

Great method to get the kids active

Being a Garmin family it was only a matter of time before our children got one. Key thing first was for the little ones had to tell the time using an analogue clock/watch first. This one was for our six year old daughter and she loves it and the app you can use to track your activity. The app can also be used to get the kids to do chores for rewards. That helps a lot. My daughter is active and now doing chores without being asked several times

I would recommend this to a friend

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LizM1989

Verified Purchase

Elite Plus Member

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

2

Sizing and age range way off

Size of wrist for the age range way off. Purchased for my 9 year old (yes, she was at the top of the age range, but I was only purchasing knowing she would use this for about a year), waaaayyyy too small. She couldn’t even fit over her fingers and she is a thin girl. I tried on my 3 year old niece and this didn’t fit her either. I would recommend trying this on in store for said person before purchasing. Ended up returning.

No, I would not recommend this to a friend

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Brand response

GarminProductExpert

4 months ago

There are other band sizes available for the vivofit jr devices. Please go to support.garmin.com where you can reach out directly to our product support team for assistance.

Debbie with Garmin

Westy

Member

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

1

Watch band wouldn't fit a newborn baby!

We bought this for our 9 year old grandson and imagine his disappointment when he opened it on Christmas Eve (last night) and he was initially so excited, then discovered the band wouldn't even fit a newborn. I noticed today, when I looked this product up, there was a choice between small & medium. It wasn't offered when I ordered. I also saw a review voicing the same complaint as ours.

No, I would not recommend this to a friend

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Brand response

GarminProductExpert

4 months ago

The band on this device is a stretchy band. Please go to support.garmin.com where you can reach out directly to our product support team from this page to order the correct size band.

The stretchy band is recommended for kids, ages 4-7. The band stretches to comfortably fit a wrist 147 mm in circumference.

The adjustable band with a buckle is recommended for kids, 4 and older. The band fits wrists measuring 130-175 mm in circumference.

Debbie with Garmin

JustMe

Verified Purchase

Elite Plus Member

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

5

So far works really well

I bought this for my 11 1/2yr old and so far it works really well and has been pretty accurate. She pays closer attention to her activity and LOVES to see her pass her goal. Oftentimes she'll surpass it 2-3x and it just makes her day. The band it comes w/is way too small and we have not gotten the XL in this style, so we've been using a different band for it. She occasionally has issues w/it leaving marks or an irritation on her wrist, so we really need to get the XL band to see if that helps.

I would recommend this to a friend

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GADC

Verified Purchase

Elite Plus Member

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4

Well made band

We pick this up for our son as a recommendation from his teacher to use towards motivation and reward systems. So far, it is well-made, water resistant, easy to use, and my seven-year-old enjoys using it. All of it is exactly as it should be, but we do wish that the band would be able to be sized a little differently. Having a universal size band is OK, but it's tough when you have a small wrist. Other than not being able to reduce the size of the band, we are very happy with this product.

I would recommend this to a friend

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Cheri

Verified Purchase

Member

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

5

Great Motivator

I bought two Garmin - vivofit jr. Activity Trackers For Kids and gave them to my grandsons, ages 6 & 9. They are brothers and they challenge each other everyday. The competition is fun for them and it's getting them moving. One issue with them is the size of the band and lack of adjustibility. I gave them replacement bands as part of their gift so they could wear them as soon as they were received. They report their activity numbers to me everyday.

I would recommend this to a friend

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Jcoffey

Verified Purchase

Elite Member

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

5

Excellent kids device

I bought this for my daughter's 7th birthday. She is very thin, with small wrists and it fits great. It is very comfortable, she often remarks that she forgets she is wearing it. She has only been wearing it for a short time, but chore reward system built into it has her doing chores first thing in the morning without being told. I do wish that there were a compatible kids app where she could view her adventure trail, but the product itself is great!

I would recommend this to a friend

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Mira

Verified Purchase

Elite Member

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

5

Great tracker and behavior motivator

My son walked up and down the stairs... and the whole house... to get steps on the first day he got this! Not only is this a great activity tracker, but my 5 year old loves the reward points we assign him daily! It has helped to get him excited about performing his responsibilities such as taking out the trash or clean-up. Great for this age range!